they tell us “happily ever after” at the end of every story, because if they told us anything else, we’d never ever read another.

This year, I spent a long time reflecting on Christmas holidays of my childhood.  It seems as though in the past, the celebration was more all-encompassing.  I sat in my living room and gazed at a beautifully decorated evergreen tree and realized, at four years old, our freshly cut fir was relatively five times my height.  The glass of eggnog poured by my mother filled a mug so large, I could barely grasp it within my meager grip and and when eagerly sipping this sweet novelty, it successfully covered my entire face.  We toasted marshmallows in our home fireplace and I timidly offered a long, thin stick as a barrier between myself and my carefully secured treat, which was lapped by the flames of a fire twice my size.

I tried to picture a room, scaled to accommodate my adult proportions, filled with beautifully wrapped boxes that were large enough to stand in, trees tall enough to play beneath the boughs,  and unlimited challenges presented in obstacles around every corner.  Massive cookies in jars just higher than reach are decorated with festive icing and sprinkles and present the omnipresent incentive to build stairs to the countertop.  The prize, I should note, by equal scale today, would be a cookie the size of a dinner plate.

Whispered rumors of Santa Clause and his flying reindeer kept me awake during this winter month, but in retrospect I have trouble understanding how I was able to sleep for the remaining eleven.  The entire world poses as a playground to a child, because in addition to toys and fantasy and make-believe, every day objects are simply so large in comparison that it is hard to not acknowledge this real life fun house.

I do my best to carry the whimsy of a child in my every day life.  It would be a shame to overlook this forgotten magic, or to abandon the belief that all the world was made for our entertainment. The trick to adulthood is to maintain this optimism when the conditions are not as ideal. When restaurants do not offer, in addition to a meal, a small prize and perhaps a jungle gym or slide to climb while waiting for the food.

There are special secrets for adults, too.  It is an every day scavenge to find them, and the treasure is perhaps even more fulfilling on account of the arousing and challenging pursuit.

See you soon, NYC!